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Hephaestus
Greek Mythology Hephaestus (Hēphaistos) was a Greek god whose Roman equivalent was Vulcan. His mother was Hera. He was the god of technology, blacksmiths, craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metals, metallurgy, fire and volcanoes. He served as the blacksmith of the gods, and he was worshipped in the manufacturing and industrial centers of Greece, particularly in Athens. The center of his cult was in Lemnos. Hephaestus' symbols are a smith's hammer, an anvil and a pair of tongs, although sometimes he is portrayed holding an axe. Hephaestus (Vulcan in Roman mythology) is the only Olympian god to have been exiled from Olympus and to have returned. In a Homeric version of Hephaestus' myth, Hera, mortified to have brought forth such grotesque offspring, promptly threw him from Mount Olympus. He fell nine days and nights and landed in the ocean. Hephaestus, being the most unfaltering of the gods, was given Aphrodite’s hand in marriage by Zeus in order to prevent conflict over her between the other gods. In the God of War series Pre-God of War Before Ares' death, and Kratos opening Pandora's Box, Hephaestus was the most prized craftmen of all Olympus, and rewarded with marriage to Aphrodite. Hephaestus' deformed appearance may be due to being brutally attacked by Zeus, after the King-God was filled with the Evil Fear, and became enraged with Kratos' retrieval of the Box. God of War: Chains of Olympus Hephaestus is mentioned in God of War: Chains of Olympus as the Gauntlet of Zeus' creator. It is said in the description of the item that Zeus demanded him to craft a weapon that would bind the Titans to the very walls of Tartarus. Thus was created the Gauntlet of Zeus. God of War III When Kratos traveled through the underworld after being dislodged from Gaia, he stumbled upon Hephaestus in his forge. After exchanging insults, Hephaestus revealed that although Zeus was the one to imprison him, Kratos was in fact the true source of his torment. When Kratos inquired about the Flame of Olympus, Hephaestus told of how everyone on Olympus knew and respected it. He continued to warn Kratos, saying that it was powerful enough to kill both man and god. When Kratos insisted upon knowing its location, Hephaestus sarcastically replied by stating that if Kratos could find his way out of the Underworld, he could find the Flame as well. After killing Hades, Kratos returned to the forge, informing the Smith God of his triumph over the God of the Underworld. Hephaestus then regaled Kratos with his past life as the prized craftsman of the gods, but concluded by stating that his perfect life ended when Kratos killed Ares. Furthermore, the girl whom he considered his daughter, Pandora, had been taken away from him, never to return. He had tried to recreate her in the forge ever since, but failed time and time again. He asked Kratos to retrieve Pandora for him, but Kratos dismissed his request, stating he had other concerns, although Hephaestus tried to persuade Kratos again by reminding the Ghost of Sparta about his own role as a father. Kratos, visibly touched, paused for a moment, before leaving the Forge. Kratos returned to Hephaestus through the Hyperion Gate connecting the Forge with Aphrodite's bedchamber. At first Hephaestus believed it to be his wife, before recoiling at the sight of Kratos, asking if Aphrodite had "conquered another God of War," Kratos ignored his question, instead demanding to know the whereabouts of the Labyrinth, to which Hephaestus expressed some confusion. He quickly realized that Pandora was being held in the Labyrinth and that Kratos intended to use her as a means of destroying the Flame of Olympus. Hephaestus angrily told Kratos to stay away from Pandora, citing that he was the reason both of them were imprisoned, to which Kratos retorted he did them no wrong. Hephaestus countered, saying it was because he opened the box, but Kratos replied that he "did what had to be done", at which point Hephaestus began to unfold a bigger picture: In creating Pandora's Box, Hephaestus knew the Flames were the safest place to hold them. To open the Box, he forged a key that took on its own life. Dubbed Pandora, father and daughter would grow to love each other. Aware Zeus would take Pandora from him, Hephaetus lied to Zeus, saying the safest place to keep the Box was on top of Cronos' back. After Kratos used the box to kill Ares, Zeus, driven by madness and fear, angrily battered Hephaestus until he revealed his deceit, and subsequently took Pandora from him. Hephaestus then desperately attempted to dissuade Kratos from finding Pandora, but the Ghost of Sparta claimed that nothing would stop him from destroying Zeus. Running out of options, Hephaestus decided to kill Kratos. The smith god first faked wanting to help him, and told the Spartan to travel to the Pit of Tartarus in order to find the Omphalos Stone, so that he could make a weapon for Kratos. Kratos initially did not want a new weapon, stating he already had plenty, but Hephaestus insisted the weapon he would create would be a "special" one. Whilst on his quest, Kratos battled the Titan Cronos, and slew him, taking the Omphalos Stone from his body. Returning to Hephaestus, Kratos was furious, as he believed the Smith God had sent him to his death, though Hephaestus pleaded innocence, claiming that he knew the Ghost of Sparta could handle himself. After completing the Nemesis Whip, Hephaestus tried electrifying Kratos with his ring in a final attempt to kill him. Kratos however, managed to shake off the effect and killed Hephaestus by impaling him on his own anvil. In his dying words, the smith god asked Kratos to spare his daughter, as well as begging for Pandora's forgiveness, after which he passed away. Powers Hephaestus as god was Immortal, and possessed shapeshifting, regeneration and super strength, although clearly to a lesser extent than the other deities. He was also a masterful blacksmith, forging powerful artifacts such as Pandora's Box and the Gauntlet of Zeus. Even after his fall from grace, Hephaestus retained his skill, being able to make several flawless statues in Pandora's likeness (albeit unable to breathe life into them as he had with the original), and forging the Nemesis Whip out of nothing but the Omphalos Stone in very short notice. Gallery File:Heph.jpg|Hephaestus concept art. File:Untitledjkjkj.png|Hephaestus. File:Untitled_333.png|A close face shot. image_god_of_war_3-12358-1708_0007.jpg|Kratos, hearing out Hephaestus' plead in his Forge File:Untitled_332.png|Hephaestus talking to Kratos. File:Hefaistos.png|Hephaestus in his forge. File:Hefaistoss.png|Kratos blocking Hephaestus' attack. File:Hefastos.png|Hephaestus, impaled by his own anvil. hephaestus gow.jpg|Hephestus in flashback 12123.png|Hephaestus' death indirectly caused the volcanic eruptions. (Only seen in the trailer). Trivia *Rip Torn, who provided Hephaestus' voice, voiced another famous Olympian, Zeus, in the Disney movie Hercules *Judging from his constant depression over Pandora and two attempts at killing Kratos, Hephaestus was most likely infected with the evils Sorrow and Deceit from Pandora's box. *Interestingly, no significant event happens upon the death of Hephaestus, though he was the god of volcanoes, smithery, forging, and similar things dealing with fire. Fans theorize that his death triggered the eruption of volcanoes, though they were already engulfed by the Flood of Greece, due to the Plague of Poseidon (More areas were possibly flooded, but Greece is the only one known for certain), although they may possibly have simply occurred off-screen. *Another possibility is that, since he was the god of a concept (smithing) and not a god of a part of nature (like the sea or the sun), his death would not affect the world in any way, much like how Ares' death as God of War had no effect on the world. *In a way, Hephaestus was himself indirectly responsible for bringing about his own punishment, as Pandora's Box was designed to contain the evils of the Titanomachy for all time, and yet, for some reason, he created Pandora as a key to retrieve the box. Whatever reason that compelled him to create a means to retrieve the box when it was never meant to be opened again is unknown, but since this is the case, Hephaestus blaming Kratos for his suffering is actually a rather meaningless argument. Related Pages *Gods Category:Characters Category:Gods Category:Deceased characters Category:God of War 3 Characters Category:Bosses